Greener Grass
by WizardsGirl
Summary: "The grass ins't always greener on the otherside" Well, Midoriya Inko thinks that's true. After all, if you just give the grass beneath your feet some love and attention, and it will grow lush and green and beautiful. Then you just had to defend it from all the assholes out there. Aggressively. (In which Midoriya Inko is fifteen, pregnant, and accidentally becomes a Vigilante)
1. Prologue: Feather Touch

**A/N:** {Smashes through your computer screens}

NEVER FEAR, FOR I AM HERE!

…With the Vigilante!Inko fic you never knew you wanted!

CATCH!

**Greener Grass**

**Prologue**

_Feather Touch_

Midoriya Inko is fifteen and pregnant. She's _fifteen_, and _pregnant_ and her parents (Oh how high their righteous horses stand) had kicked her out for being a 'whore'. She's _fifteen_, _pregnant_, and _homeless_.

But she isn't _helpless_ and she sure as hell isn't _stupid_.

She'd been on the fast-track to an Ivory League College before her world had flipped, and she was _still_ on that fast track. Her teachers had been informed about her pregnancy, been told that she'd moved in with a non-existent Family Friend after her parents had kicked her out, and they sympathized even while they judged her, but Inko kept her head high and she diligently kept her grades up throughout the school-days. And, after school, she would spend a few hours at the local library, throwing herself into the books available, drowning herself with _purpose_ so that she didn't drown in _despair_.

And, when that was over, she went _hunting_.

Her Quirk had never been particularly _strong_. It wasn't _flashy,_ it wasn't _powerful_, it couldn't do too much at all. But it was _useful_. She could move and pull things to her from a full three-hundred-and-sixty degrees, no matter if it was in her line of sight of not. As long as it weighed less than a half-gallon of milk, she could move it.

And wallets, pocket change, _money_, were all _far_ lighter than her weight-limit.

So, every night, after she'd hidden her things within an abandoned building near her school, in a tiny, half-buried cupboard that hid her backpack and the few clothes she managed to keep carefully clean, Inko would dress herself in a dark blue, overly-large hoody, her green hair in a tight bun under a purple beanie, clothes baggy enough to hide both her gender and slowly-growing stomach, and a wide gray scarf around her neck that hid her face. She would pull on these clothes, and she would slip through the shadows, the many, _many_ maps and blue-prints she'd memorized in her library-times brought up to the fore-front of her sharp mind. And, sliding through alleys, around stalls, even through the occasional _window_, she hunted. For money, for food, for the little things that people with steady jobs and homes and _lives_ took for granted, like deodorant, shampoo and conditioner, socks and underwear and unused bedding.

And she built herself a _home_, built herself a place to rest and sleep and keep her precious few items carefully tucked away.

Inko was fifteen, pregnant, and homeless, but she was smart and practical and _vicious_, because the life growing within her was _her baby_ and she would _burn the world down_ to make sure they were safe and healthy and that they _never doubted_ how much she loved them. She regretted falling into bed with her callous Class President, Saichi Udo. She regretted listening to murmured promises and sly smiles and whispered sweetness. She regretted letting him take her home that night, the both of them tipsy and hot and reckless. She regretted not making him use protection, blinded by her crush and his bright smile and cute freckles and wild, curly hair.

But she would _never_ regret the child in her womb.

It all carried on for the entirety of her first trimester and well into the second, the thieving. She only did it a few nights a week, changing those nights randomly, and never on weekends, but people began to notice. It became slightly more difficult to Pull change and wallets from people, and she'd nearly gotten caught on a few occasions when her target turned out to be a Hero or police officer in Civilian clothes.

But Inko had been graced with a soft, wide-eyed face and the aura that made people think of a sweet, baby bunny, inherited from her mother who had a weak Attraction Quirk. It meant that, when confronted, all she had to do was blink widely up at them, hands curved protectively around her growing stomach, and a meek question of what they meant for them to back off rapidly, _especially_ the males. The females who confronted her weren't as quick to back off, because faking a pregnancy was something female criminals could get away with without suspicion from men, but they still backed off eventually.

(Where would those naive creatures be, without women to watch their turned backs and hide their poisoned knives behind sweet, demure expressions and gentle words?)

But still, she would have to move to places with better pickings, or at least, easier ones. Luckily, summer vacation offered the perfect excuse to disappear. She didn't have any close friends (especially since she became pregnant and no boy stepped forward. High school was _vicious_), her parents didn't care and, beyond them, the only ones who would notice her vanishing for the next two months were the Librarians, and they would, no doubt, be relieved that she was finally "relaxing".

So, the day that school let out for the summer, Inko collected all of her sparse belongings, hid herself within her Thief Costume, and slipped through the city towards the darker, less-patrolled areas, where criminals, drug dealers, villains and vigilantes tended to roam. There, no one looked twice at her slightly dirty, too-big clothes. No one tried to see beneath her hood or the wide scarf curled around her neck that helped cover her face. They were all hiding in plain sight as well, after all.

What was one more shadow in a place of darkness?

Inko managed to secure herself a tiny, hole-in-the-wall apartment with what she'd managed to save up (Not all of it, of course. She had a bank account in a heavily Hero-Patrolled area, where her _full_ savings were tucked away. Better safe than sorry, after all, and with a baby on the way, there was no reason to risk _their_ future.). She got herself a part-time job at a little market, the owner a kind woman named Mimi who had a Mutant Quirk that made her look like the spider-version of a Centaur, her massive lower body that of the relatively harmless Golden Garden spider, the bright golds and blacks patterning her skin in a shimmering, downy-soft layer of almost-fur.

(_"I get all the horror-movie looks and none of the danger,"_ Mimi liked to joke, her six black eyes crinkling as she smiled, teeth black and curved inward like fangs and her smaller, leg-like appendages at the corners of her mouth spreading out in a grasping-motion. Inko thought she was very pretty, and made sure to tell her so, and, even if it was completely honest, she would have lied just to see that soft, wondering expression on the older woman's face.)

She had a job, she had a home, and she had a future as a productive member of society awaiting her, as long as she kept her grades up and stayed off the radar of the law.

It is, of course, as soon as this all becomes apparent, that her world once more gets turned upside down.

It starts like this:

She's in her Thief costume, shuffling across a roof with a wad of cash hidden between her swollen, aching breasts and a hand resting unconsciously on her lower back as it _aches_. She's just bending over to pick up the heavy-duty plank of wood she hid on various rooftops so she could safely cross from one to another, when there's a cry from the alley below her and the sound of a scuffle. Curiously, she pokes her hidden face over the edge, and finds one of the other Shadows cringing fearfully against the wall of the building she's on, trying to keep a syringe from being plunged into his neck by a larger, better dressed man who _did not belong_ in the Shadow Zone.

"This'll just hurt more if you struggle, asshole," the well-dressed man growled, and Inko's eyes narrowed as she realized that the only reason her fellow Shadow hadn't been injected by the strangely glowing purple liquid, was because he had some sort of metal-based Quirk that turned his arms into literal crowbars. He'd done a good job, bracing his elbows against the stone behind him so that the crowbars could be kept locked, but they wouldn't stay that way for long, and who _knows_ what happened to his _actual_ arms if the metal bent too far or, heaven forbid, _snapped._

Inko didn't think what she did next was considered Vigilantism. She didn't think of it as illegal. She thought of it as _defense_, as _saving_, and it happened as instinctively as an act of that path _should_.

So, she stuck a hand over the edge, and _Pulled_ the syringe from the Strangers hand, yanking it viciously into the air and making the man snarl a curse, jerking his head up to glare at her, and open his mouth to yell-

The heavy plank of wood she'd been in the process of collecting _slammed_ into his face, sending him to the ground in an unconscious sprawl, blood spurting from his broken nose and mouth as pieces of his teeth made soft _clink_ noises against the ground. Her fellow Shadow was gasping for breath, trembling still as he slumped against the wall. Carefully, gently, Inko loosened her hold on the syringe, a soft headache beginning to bloom in her temples from a mix of Quirk-Overuse from her long night, and the hormones boiling in her bloodstream that were trying to urge her to burst into tears.

The syringe landed on the unconscious Stranger's chest with a soft _thump_, and rolled back and forth for a moment, before going still. Police sirens could be heard, rapidly approaching, and Inko quickly made her way to the small ladder that lead down into the alley. Her fellow Shadow jerked to look up at her as her feet finally landed on the ground, her ankles achingly swollen beneath the heavy rolls of her pant-legs.

"Th-thank you," he whispered, his Crowbar Quirk finally either reaching its limit or releasing now that the danger was taken care of. Inko gave him a silent nod, and glanced toward the direction of the Sirens. Her fellow Shadow did too, swallowing thickly as his heavily bruised (possibly broken) arms curled over his chest defensively. "Go," he whispered to her, gray eyes darting to her and away quickly, before he could even try and catch a hint of her face. _Plausible Deniability_. "Q-quickly. Go."

Inko bowed to him, short and shallow so he couldn't see her rounded belly, and darted past him, exiting the alley and crossing the street to another one, slipping past dumpsters and taking a sharp turn into a tiny path that was narrow enough her shoulders touched the walls on either side of her. It was just in time too, because just as she disappeared completely from sight, the police arrived on the scene, blue and red lights sending shadows against the walls and Shadows scurrying or hunching over themselves, making wide, skittish eyes flash, cat-like, in the harsh lights.

Inko thought nothing of her latest adventure, except to be glad that she'd managed to help.

At least, until it kept happening.

A mugging here, stopped by Pulling the knife from the attackers hand and hitting up upside the head with a fist-sized rock she'd Pulled and dropped. An attempted rape here when she un-flinchingly Pulled the attacker's dick hard enough to tear _something_ internally and leave him screeching and then unconscious from the pain, the woman he'd been attacking giving him one extra-hard kick to the mangled limb before rifling through his pockets and throwing his wallet up to Inko on the fire-escape with a fierce grin and a 'you get 'em, girl' that almost made her panic before considering that she doubted a man would _ever_ do something that vicious to another man. A lost child carefully lead back to their parent by a hovering origami crane that she'd tucked some spare money into.

Before she knew it, a few weeks of this... this Shadow Defense had passed, and, suddenly, she saw a description of her Thief Costume on the news.

_The Feather Touch Vigilante_, they were calling her. _Named for his light, near-unseen touch against his enemies. Defender of the Forgotten. Protector of the Lost._

It had a decent ring to it, she decided as she absently restocked the shelves. And, if they were looking for a male, they would never think that the pretty, pregnant teenage girl had anything to do with it.

And, as she put another can of chicken noodle soup on the shelf, Inko _smiled_.

**A/N: **The BNHA fandom is lit af and I am helpless towards its splendor…

I also haven't seen this yet, so have at ye!


	2. Chapter One: First Meeting

**A/N:** Here! Have more Vigilante!Mama!

(Throws Inko at you)

**Greener Grass**

**Chapter One**

_First Meeting_

It's a funny thing, Inko muses as she stands on a rooftop at two in the morning, being a Vigilante. In school and on TV, Vigilantes are always called the Gateway State, or the Fine Line. To be a Vigilante is to be an Illegal Hero, or an Unlikely Villain. One step too far over that line and _Bam_! You were irrevocably changed.

But, in reality, Inko was finding Vigilantism to be... Kind of fun, but also not that big of a deal? She was just doing the same thing she had always done as a kid, protecting others from bullies, helping her neighborhood, doing chores for and smiling at the elderly people around her who needed her help. Sure, a lot of this was done in the dead of night, in disguise, with her Quirk, and _very, very carefully_, but... It wasn't any different than the way she'd been raised.

"If you see someone committing a crime, report them!" said the policemen, and she did, making sure that the criminals couldn't escape before they arrived.

"If you see a child being hurt, protect them!" said the adults, and she did, making sure the one that hurt them wouldn't get away to do it again.

"If you can do something good, do it!" Encouraged the teachers, and she did, smiling brightly as she helped her vulnerable fellow Shadows stay safe and happy.

Being Feather Touch was no different than being Midoriya Inko at the end of the day, just... Quieter, subtler, harder to catch a glimpse of. Because Midoriya Inko caught attention, the after-affect of her mother's Attraction Quirk lending her an aura and presence that just... Caught the eye of everyone around her. And not in the creepy-way, either, though there had been a few creeps when she first moved into the Shadow Zone (Mimi turned out to be _fantastic_ for keeping them away). Instead, people saw her as bright, and young, and in need of _protection_ which...

Well, it _chafed_, to be frank. It chafed that these people, complete strangers, looked at her and didn't see her as necessarily a _thinking,_ _living_ _being_ but rather as some sort of priceless _doll_ that needed a knight in shining armor and an impenetrable fortress to hide away in. She'd had more than one person use her pregnancy as an excuse to try and get her to "sit down and relax, dear". To "consider her condition!". To "not stress so much, it's bad for the baby, dear!".

...Inko had memorized every pre-natal, post-natal, and embryotic developmental book, journal, and website she could find. She knew _damn well_ what _was_ and what _wasn't_ alright for her baby, _thank you very much_.

...She may be getting _just a little bit_ frustrated with all of these 'helpful' people.

_Just a little bit._

Anyways, Vigilantism. Her point about it was that, despite all the hype and negative connotations it was given, despite the emphasis on how 'wrong' and 'bad' it was, being a Vigilante... _Wasn't_, _actually _that bad. She was just... Helping out the neighborhood...

..._Illegally..._

And besides, if anything, the very fact that a Vigilante was actually _needed_ should be the crime! Police response to the Shadow Zone was _eighteen minutes_ before Feather Touch started working. _Eighteen. Minutes_. Now that there was a Vigilante that had caught the publics attention, however, the response time was down to _ten_ minutes. Crime rates had dropped, too, the number of attacks going down from ninety-one percent to seventy-nine in just the single month she'd been 'working' there. And it wasn't like the criminals and even minor Villains had _left_, oh no, in fact, the _actual, legitimate __**Villains**_ had _multiplied_ in the sudden power vacuum that was the Shadow Zone.

And here she was, standing on a rooftop, absently munching on a matcha-flavored mochi as the police did a drug-bust on a lab run by some minor Villain calling himself Toxicallo. Man, what would they have done without those anonymous tips and the actual video evidence that their tipper _somehow_ managed to get of the wanted Villain and his crew?

To be completely honest, though, she'd gotten _such a migraine_ from using Pull to hold that camera at the right angle to see into the building _for an hour_, ugh.

As she shifted her bag to pull out another mochi (her current craving), there was a sudden _thump_ noise behind her, and Inko blinked, turning around to look.

Standing there, gold, avian eyes glinting like steel, was the Nocturnal Hero: Knight Owl. His steel, gold, and copper Hero costume, a set of metal armor made to mimic the image of a Great Horned Owl, was... Honestly pretty intimidating, all things considered, looming out of the dark at his staggering seven-foot-two height, his skin the same, dark tone as wet earth, and his dread-locks held back by metallic bands and feathers that doubled as throwing daggers.

_Whelp,_ Inko thought, wide-eyed as she stared at him, _at least __**I'm**__ not in costume..._

And then, completely shattering the impromptu, tense staring contest... Came a teenage boy wearing a _neon red and orange_ Hero outfit that looked honestly like some long-eared cat of some sort. He was gasping for breath, hunched over after finally making it to the roof, breath wheezing out in little puffs of _actual smoke_, and, well, Inko just _stared _at him as he gasped.

"Sorry, sorry!" He choked out, wheezing, one hand to his chest and the other flailing about towards Knight Owl in what Inko was _beginning to think_ might _actually_ be some kind of seizure? "I'm here! What's happening?!" He straightened up, his head-gear shifting back, and Inko felt her brain just kind of... Stall.

The face grinning up at Knight Owl was... It was...

_He has __**freckles**_, Inko thought blankly. _Freckles and, and __**dimples**__, and __**curly red hair**__, and-_

_**Inko Exe has stopped working.**_

"Hey, hey!" The boy (the _cute boy_ oh god someone _help her _she_ needed a __**hero**_ oh god) was suddenly in her face, green eyes (matcha-green eyes oh god) wide and worried as he gently reached out and touched her shoulder and-

_(oh god I need a Hero but he __**is**__ a Hero __**Oh God Why**__)_

-and Inko _squeaked_, startled as he shook her slightly, and _punched him in the nose_.

There was a nasty sounding _crunch_, a pained _yelp_ and, as the _too cute baby Hero_ stumbled back, clutching his face, Inko felt her own face _burn_ as her hands (one now stiff and aching-she'd jammed a finger) flew up to covered her mouth and nose, eyes wide with horror.

Behind the two, as Inko flailed and rapidly chanted her high-pitched, mortified apologies and the baby-Hero sputtered through his broken nose and flailed right back with his _own_ apologies, Knight Owl let out a deep, long sigh.

With _feeling_.

**A/N:** Okay, I know its short, but OMFG that was _the best_ place I could stop that XD XD XD XD XD Tell me what you think, and yes, red-and-orange cutie _is_ Hisashi AKA Actual Cinnamon Roll 1.0 (Izuku is, of course, 2.0)


	3. Chapter Two: Teenage Dreams

**A/N:** Here's more Vigilante!Inko and CutiePatootie!Hisashi!

(Seriously, though, there are waaaaay too many Villain/Abusive/Asshole!Hisashi fics whyyyyyy?! Izuku had to get some of his adorableness from somewhere _besides_ the adorable badassery that is Inko! C'mon everybody!)

**Greener Grass**

**Chapter Two:**

_Teenage Dreams_

Knight Owl had given cute-baby-Hero a handkerchief for his nose and orders to guard Inko while he went to assist the police. He had then left the two flustered teenagers alone with the most deadpan order to behave that Inko had _ever_ seen or heard. It was honestly rather impressive, she absently noted as she clenched her hands nervously around her bag of mochi, blinking embarrassed and hormone-driven tears away.

"I'm really, really, _really_ sorry," she told the baby-Hero softly as they sat near the edge of the building, so they could clearly see the drug-bust. Immediately, the cute boy waved one blood-smeared hand with a nasally laugh, offering her a bright grin.

"It was totally my fault," he reassured her cheerfully as he pinched his nose shut. "Knight Owl's always gettin' onto me for not thinking things through. You'd just been cornered on a rooftop across from a criminal's hide-out, the _last_ thing I should've done was grab you! So, my bad, I apologize and I _totally_ deserved that punch," she chuckled, and Inko flushed a little darker,

_Oh no even his __**laugh **__is cute what do I do?!, _she internally screamed as she offered a weak smile and quickly dabbed at her eyes, hands falling to cradle her belly as she ducked her head.

"I'm H- I mean, Zashi," he told her next, stumbling for a moment over what was, no doubt, his _actual_ name. "My Hero Name is Zashi." Inko blinked and looked at him.

"Midoriya Inko," she offered softly, shyly as she tightened and relaxed her hands over her belly nervously. "Ah, do you mind if I ask-?"

"Why Zashi?" he replied, smiling ruefully. "Originally, I was gonna go with Draconis or something dragon-related, see, because my Quirk is Fire Breath," he told her, turning his head and spitting out a small, ridiculously bright and hot burst of flames, forcing Inko to blink dazedly for a second at the afterimages it left behind in her vision. "I had it all planned out, y'know? Since my Quirk came in when I was eight, I was gonna be the Fire-Breathing Dragon Hero!" he chuckled, rubbing a hand over the top of his head and between the long 'ears' of his headgear.

"What changed?" she asked; he rolled his eyes and laughed a little.

"There's a girl in my class who can turn into an _actual_ dragon," he replied dryly, grinning. "Kinda took the whole schtick _right_ outta my hands." Inko giggled slightly as he wiggled his hands at her for emphasis. "So, until I can come up with a better Hero Name, Zashi is my temporary fill-in."

"I'm, ah, sorry about that," she told him, smiling warmer now, feeling more comfortable and less like she was going to _throw herself from the roof_ because _he was too cute god why_?!

...It was a work in progress.

"Eh, shit happens!" he waved her off cheerfully. "And my classmate is super chill and fun, too, so it's not like I'm mad or anything! No one gets to pick their Quirks, after all, and she's gonna be a _fantastic_ Hero, no doubt," he told Inko earnestly, matcha-green eyes bright with enthusiasm and optimism and _whelp there goes Inko's heart, right off the roof_.

"So, um, that is," Inko stuttered, face flushed and heart pounding, "Is the, um, dragon-theme what you were trying to go with for your costume?" She asked; Zashi bobbed his head rapidly, beaming. "It, um..."

"Looks like a weird cat, I know," he laughed, grinning at her, dimples deepening, and god, Inko's _poor, poor __**heart**_. "Support did their best, but, well, at least they got the colors bright enough!" He cheerfully declared, holding out an arm and admiring the violently neon colors. Inko giggled, and the two of them glanced over at the drug-bust as someone was thrown out a window, pausing to watch avidly as Knight Owl leaped out after what Inko recognized as Toxicallo, a five-foot-nothing pale-green skinned bald man in a dark purple tuxedo with a gas-mask on, the poison he could secrete from his hands gleaming oddly in the police-lights as he tried to fling palmfuls of it at the Nocturnal Hero.

"Oh, wow!" Zashi breathed, leaning forward with eyes bright. "Is that some sort of Mutant Quirk?" Inko hummed, absently digging another mochi out of her wrinkled bag. "It has to be, right? Something to do with the sweat-glands or pores in his hands, prompting a chemical reaction that becomes poisonous... Probably once it makes contact with oxygen?" He mumbled, eying the two fighting with keen interest, and Inko found herself nodding along.

"It's actually a really strong hallucinogen," she told him, making him hum sharply with interest as he leaned further over the roof edge, eyes gleaming. "Toxicallo's been using it to create the drug called Vision."

"So _that's_ how it's made!" Zashi breathed. "There has to be some sort of twist in his biological make-up to produce those results, then," he murmured, watching his Mentor throw the Toxic Villain around. "Maybe something about the proteins in his blood, or, or maybe the plasma itself is the source." Inko hummed.

"Maybe it's in his bone marrow," she offered; Zashi's head bobbed rapidly, fingers twitching as he observed.

"Man, I wish I had a notebook or a recorder or something!" He complained. "I do Quirk Analysis for fun sometimes, you know?" he informed her warmly. "I like to write up theories about how the Quirk manifests within the cellular make-up of its holder, because there has _got_ to be something in the biochemistry that _causes_ Quirks, something _quantifiable _so people don't have to rely on that stupid toe-joint bullshit the doctors are all raving about. My doctor told my family I wasn't going to have a Quirk because of that, you know," he informed her easily. "And I was a late-bloomer, so for four years everyone believed I was Quirkless and reacted accordingly." Immediately, Inko grimaced. The Shadow Zone had some Quirkless members, people kicked out like Inko just because of a genetic issue. They were all perfectly pleasant, _good_ people, but, to society? Toxicallo, as someone with a Quirk, was worth more to society than any Quirkless person, and he was a _Villain_.

"I'm sorry you had to go through that," she told him sincerely; Zashi blinked at her, cheeks going pink as she set her hand on his shoulder. "I have no doubt that you're going to be a _fantastic_ Hero," she told him quietly, earnestly. "You got into U.A., didn't you?" she offered; Zashi blinked twice (were those _tears_? Oh god he was in touch with his emotions, she was screwed) before nodding with a bright smile, rubbing his sleeve across his eyes briefly.

"Y-yeah, I got in without a Recommendation and everything," he told her warmly. "It was kinda a big deal for a while there, the fact that I got in like everyone else, cause my uncle-well, I _call_ him Uncle but he's actually more like a second-cousin-he's was already slammin' his way through the rankings by the time I was born, and now he's in the Top Ten, y'know?" Inko blinked, and then frowned at him, eyes narrowing.

"You mean to tell me," she started slowly, "that you have a Top Ten Hero as a _relative_ and you didn't get a single Recommendation?" Zashi flushed and tried to laugh it off, flailing his hands at her and looking away. Inko's eyes narrowed further. "Let me guess, he's one of those assholes who thought you were a 'worthless Quirkless', wasn't he?" She demanded, fingers curving sharply into quotations around the insult as she did, eyes glinting like steel when Zashi flinched.

_Someone hurt this precious boy and they were going to __**pay**__._

"You are going to be a _phenomenal_ Hero," she told him, setting a hand on his shoulder and meeting his wide eyes directly, face hard and serious. "You are going to kick ass, you are going to take names, and you are going to _rub your bastard Uncle's __**face**__ in it_. And, you know what else, Zashi?" She leaned forward, expression fierce and voice sharp. "You are going to do it with _style_." Zashi's eyes were huge, jaw dropped as he gaped at Inko, a slowly rising flush starting at his ears and moving across his face. Staring into his eyes, making sure that he understood, Inko nodded once, sharply, and sat back with a satisfied air as she returned her attention to the drug-bust in time to see Knight Owl handing an unconscious and bound Toxicallo off to the police.

"Why are you mentoring during the summer, anyways?" she asked suddenly, blinking as she did so. "I thought that the Internships for the Heroics Course were during the school year?" Zashi cleared his throat and looked towards the drug-bust as well as his Mentor helped gather the captured criminals up.

"I, ah, got really sick during the _actual_ Internships this year," he admitted to her, voice cracking a little. "A nasty infection from overusing my Quirk in the Sports Festival and exhaustion from too many sleepless nights landed me in the hospital for two weeks. So, instead of going to the Summer Camp this year, I'm Interning at the Nocturnas Agency _all_ Summer!" He offered her a bright grin, cheeks and ears still bright red. "Knight Owl's my main Mentor, but I also train with Moonlight, Star Chaser, and Infra-Red! Since their Agency specializes in night crimes, I'm getting as much experience in as I can without having to worry about trying to keep up with school activities. Since I'm not at the Camp, I have to send my Senseis weekly reports on my training regimen, Quirk statistics, and a weekly report on what crimes I've had a hand in stopping." Inko blinked, and smiled brightly back at him as Zashi all but bounced in place.

"That sounds really cool," she told him warmly; the blush that had been fading returned with a vengeance, and Zashi laughed awkwardly, voice cracking again as the two of them smiled at one another like idiots.

"Zashi," a deep, hoarse voice called suddenly from behind them, and, immediately, Inko and Zashi flailed with equally high-pitched squeaks, turning, wide-eyed, to find Knight Owl standing behind them on the roof, avian-gold eyes glinting in an expressionless face. "Time to go."

"R-right!" Zashi squeaked, scrambling to his feet and immediately offering Inko a hand so he could help her up as well. "It was nice meeting you, Inko-Chan!" He chirped enthusiastically, beaming at her. "Maybe we can run into each other again!" Inko flushed and smiled helplessly back.

"I hope so," she told him; he beamed even brighter and darted away towards his Mentor, leaving Inko to blink dazedly into space for a moment. And, just like that, the two disappeared off the building and into the night, leaving Inko standing by herself on the roof, a single mochi left in her bag and a crush as big as Jupiter in her heart.

"Oh boy," she whispered as she shakily began to move towards the ladder on the opposite side of the building. "I'm doomed."

"You're doomed," Mimi agreed cheerfully the next day as Inko sprawled out on her living room floor with an arm thrown dramatically over her bright red face, the other curled absently over her stomach. The Arachnitaur trilled mirthfully as her young employee groaned, her six eyes glittering as she grinned. "You're doomed and you _love it_."

"I just, I can't _help it_!" Inko wailed dramatically, bursting into tears, making a frustrated noise as she flailed her hands. "And now I'm crying! And it's not that big a deal?!" She forced herself into a sitting position, huffing as her baby shifted and pressed against her lower ribs. "I just, I just have a type?! And it's freckles and curls and _intelligence_ and I just-!" She flailed helplessly, furiously, as she wept, and Mimi shook her head, clicking her fangs in amusement even as she obligingly handed over a box of tissues and a whole pear. Sniffling into the tissues, Inko took a mean bite of the pear and munched on it moodily.

"You've got a Type," Mimi agreed easily. "And you also seem to find that type in places you know you probably should try to avoid." Inko grumbled in agreement, taking another bite of her pear while swiping at her tears irritably. "While this boy sounds far, _far_ better than the one who got that little one into your belly, he _is_ a Hero Trainee, and _you_ are a Vigilante," the Arachnitaur pointed out mildly. Inko groaned and stuffed the pear into her mouth, cheeks bulging comically as she sulked into her tissues, huffing tearfully as she did so. Mimi sighed, shaking her head, and reached down to easily lift the teenager into the air, Inko not even _trying_ to hold herself up but instead slumping into limp, heavy dead-weight, pouting as she chewed industriously on the remains of her pear. Mimi twisted her torso around and plopped the sulking teen onto her large, round spider-back, absently sticking the girl there with some quickly applied webs, before skittering out the large, balcony-esque window of her apartment and down the side of the building. Inko moodily waved at Kentaro as they passed his living room window, the Quirkless twenty-year-old waving back before turning back to the laptop where he did his online work. Kentaro was a hacker, an incredibly good one, who made money selling information to people that he deemed 'pretty chill'. Considering she'd once seen him sell blueprints of some Villains hide-out to _another_ Villain, however, Inko wasn't sure if 'chill' meant _nice to him_ or if it meant _doesn't deal with Children_, which was his only Baseline of Nope as far as she could tell.

"Listen, Inko-Chan," Mimi spoke as they finally reached the ground, her long, black-and-gold legs clicking like expensive high heels on the cracked pavement as she moved towards her store. "If you like this Zashi boy, and you're willing to play it safe, I say go for it. You're young, you're rather mature, and it's not like he can get you pregnant right now, anyways," she added wryly, making Inko huff. "Just be aware of the consequences of your nighttime escapades, and you'll be fine. You're a highly intelligent and studious young woman," the Arachnitaur chided gently as she shifted her head so the further-back eyes on the left-side of her face could blink at the teenager. "You understand risk assessment, you understand the laws surrounding this place, and you understand what all that means to both yourself _and_ the little spiderling in your womb. I'm not going to tell you that you shouldn't do something," she added calmly. "You can make your own decisions, and you can handle the consequences. I trust you." Inko sniffled, fresh tears falling even as she ducked her head and rubbed furiously at her face.

"Ugh, body, _why_?!" She whined, hiccupping as she covered her face with her hands. "Thank you, Mimi, I swear, I'm not trying to cry, but my _stupid hormones_ are being jerks and ugh, my eyes are going to be so swollen and gross...!" Mimi laughed easily, the older woman shaking her head with an amused trill as she unlocked and opened her store for the day, turning and unsticking Inko from her back before setting the teenager firmly on the stool behind the counter and leaving her there to go check the office and security system...

Which, in reality, the Security System was actually just Bo. Bo had an Alarm Quirk that meant that any building or secure area he Activated it in was essentially Armed with an ear-shatteringly loud alarm that had mild sonic-soundwave capabilities that left any unfortunate robbers temporarily paralyzed with burst eardrums. As soon as all windows and doors were locked, his Quick Activated, completely instinctively. This was, in part, due to the fact that Bo had sever Autism and the act of locking and securing safe places helped keep him happy and focused. Added to the fact that he had severe insomnia, it meant paying him as a nighttime guard was actually to _everyone's_ benefit. Bo got a safe place to spend the night, playing video games and watching YouTube videos to his hearts content, and Mimi had a guaranteed deterrent to any hoodlums that wanted to try and steal her merchandise.

Bo was actually one of the first people to find out that Inko was Feather Touch. She'd rescued him from Villain, after all. The Villain in question (some asshole with a Magnetic Quirk calling himself Push-Pull) had kidnapped Bo when he was fifteen and had forced the boy to be his own alarm system for the next seven years. The only reason Inko hadn't been hurt by Bo when she'd snuck into the warehouse to gather some evidence for the police, had been because the boy had been crying over his broken finger and hadn't been able to actually _use_ his Quirk, since it required a feeling of _safety_, even if only the illusion of safety, and no one felt safe while injured. So, she'd snatched him up with soft words and dire mumbles of retribution on his behalf, gave him all of her dango, wrapped him up in a cocoon of the softest blankest she'd owned, and then _destroyed_ Push-Pull's _entire operation_ while leaving poor Bo with Mimi to fuss over him.

Come to think of it, _that_ was when Feather Touch had gotten 'his' most serious on-screen debut, actually. Thirty-two criminals, most of them minor Villains beneath the control of Push-Pull, all of them captured and unconscious with only mild injuries and no way of identifying Feather Touch besides what everyone already knew? Added to the folders upon folders upon flashdrives and laptops of information about _every single one_ of Push-Pulls associates, plans, and past endeavors?

Well, Inko hadn't truly considered the fact that it would get so much Media Coverage, or that there would suddenly be Heroes crawling out of the woodwork All she cared about was the young man she'd rescued and that the ones who'd hurt him for being "retarded" and "worthless" were _never doing it again_. And, as she smiled warmly at the sleepily mumbling form of Bo as he shuffled towards her, Inko had absolutely _no_ regrets.

"Good morning, Bo-Kun!" She greeted, just like she always did when they saw one another; instantly, the older boy lit up-literally, the blinking security-system lights that made up his eyes and dotted his forehead flashing brightly in response to his mood-and offered her a small smile as he bobbed his head.

"In-In," he muttered happily; Inko smiled, reaching under the counter and pulling out the small, snack-sized candy bar that Mimi left there for just this little ritual.

"Did you have a good night?" she asked as she held it up; Bo bobbed his head several times, leaning left and then right and rubbing his fingertips to his thumbs rapidly enough to make almost-fluttering sounds.

"Safe," he told her sincerely. "Safe night. Keep Mimi and In-In safe," he crowed proudly, and Inko beamed at him and gave him the candy bar.

"Thank you very much, Bo-Kun!" she told him brightly; Bo beamed at her, and then waved goodbye before shuffling out the door. Across the street, the old woman Inko only knew as Ruse was waiting to take him home. She was another of the Shadow Zone's Quirkless members, but she had also made a bit of a name for herself as Vigilante a decade or two ago. A broken knee and hip, however, and no insurance or actual identity to get it fixed, had forced her to retire into the nameless Shadows and away from the limelight. She'd become sort of the Zone Matron for Runaways and Lost Children, since then, having taken control of a large warehouse at the far end of the District. She was all too happy to snatch Bo up and coddle him fiercely when Inko had gone looking for trustworthy people, even if the retired Vigilante had mildly told Inko that she needed to shape up or ship out with her own work as Feather Touch.

Still, Inko mused as she waved at the kindly, harmless-looking old woman who had poisoned and beaten both Top Ten Heroes and Supervillains in her prime, it was always nice to have another opinion when she didn't know what to do with her little Pseudonym at night.

"Inko-Chan!" Mimi called, pulling the teenager from her musing. "I've got to do inventory! You're in charge of the store, okay?!"

"Roger that!" Inko called back, settling more firmly into her seat and pulling out the thick Law book she'd stashed under the counter for times like this. Mimi's store wasn't as popular as Take Away's down a few blocks, but as soon as people realized it was Inko at the counter and her mild Aura kicked in, they'd get busier. Until then, in the dead hours of the morning, she would study and memorize and learn, so that she'd be able to provide the absolute _best_ life for her child in the future.

And, if more than once she found herself staring out the window and thinking wistfully of curly hair and matcha-green eyes and star-bright smiles...

Well, she was a teenager. She was allowed to slack off every once and a while!

**A/N:** Ta-Da! And no worries, we'll learn more about Hisashi-Chan soon enough! Thanks for reading! I tried to make Inko act a bit more like a Teen in this chapter. Still responsible, still with Izuku's Bad Luck (or does he have Inko's Bad Luck?), and still really smart and mature for her age, but more of a teenager. I hope I did that right!

(Also, Inko has absolutely no tolerance for abuse or bullying of any sort in this AU. She sees her fellow Shadows get taken advantage of and hurt _every day_, so fuck yeah, she will _**destroy you**_ if you hurt someone precious to her.)

Please Review!


	4. Chapter Three: Second First Meeting

**A/N:** NEVER FEAR, FOR I AM HERE!

WITH ANOTHER UPDATE!

(Flexes)

**Greener Grass**

**Chapter Three**

_Second First Meeting_

Ever since she'd been given the Persona of Feather Touch, Inko has been using her Quirk more than any other time in her life. And it shows. Before, she hadn't been able to lift or Pull anything heavier than a half-gallon of milk, and could only Pull maybe two or three items at a time. And she would get nasty migraines if she used her Quirk in a way that wasn't just Pulling something towards her, but just Lifting it. Now, however, over five weeks of being a Vigilante and using Pull almost nightly, and using it around Mimi's store to help carry and stock things, her Quirk has only grown stronger.

She can lift and move up to two gallons in weight, and her current limit for Pulling is twelve. She can Lift things and keep them Hovering for up to an hour without a headache, and up to two without the headache becoming debilitating. She can use it faster, almost instinctively, and doesn't need to concentrate nearly as hard to do so, which means that she can finally seriously multitask while Pulling things after her.

This is what she's doing at the moment, practicing her Quirk while working. She's slowly wandering up and down the aisles of Mimi's store, reading from her new Law book as she uses her Quirk to Pull items from the cart she's dragging behind her and Pushing them onto the correct shelves. Push is a new aspect of Pull as well, one that she's struggling to control correctly since she figured out how to do it. It's not, actually, _Pushing_ things away from her, but rather her focusing on where she wants the objects to be Pulled. She's worked out that her Quirk is actually rather similar to Magnetism, only it doesn't rely on metal alloys but instead on a centralized mass, like a gravitational pull instead of chemical reaction.

She _may_ be waiting on a science textbook to arrive in the mail based around the concept of gravity and space, because her Quirk is beginning to feel more and more gravity-related than she'd ever thought of before and it's _interesting_...

"Oh, wow!" A familiar voice blurts behind her, and Inko _squeaks_, flinging her hands up instinctively and causing every can in the cart behind her, as well as the Law book, to go flying into the air above her violently. She _just_ manages to re-focus enough to keep a majority of the product from slamming into either the ceiling or the floor, but more than one can sash into the ground, denting and rolling away from her in sad, misshapen lumps. The book has managed to get itself stuck on the top of a shelf, and Inko lets out a shuddery sigh of relief, heart pounding as she turns and finds what is unmistakably Zashi, flailing in a panic and out of costume.

"I'm so, so, _so sorry_, Inko-Chan!" Zashi yelps, matcha-green eyes wide with embarrassed concern. "Here, let me help!" he adds, and, before Inko can do more than stare, wide-eyed, at him, the baby Hero is darting around the ground and scooping up cans of spaghetti-o's and tomato soup. As he did so, babbling apologies the whole while, Inko could only stare, wide-eyed, because he was dressed in tight jeans and a blue dress-shirt, unbuttoned, over a tight gray tank-top, and his curly red hair was bright and shiny and his sheepish smile as he placed cans in the cart was so bright and, and-!

It had been four days since she last saw Zashi, and her crush was _still_ the size of Jupiter, but, _now_, seeing him out of gear and in clothes that flattered _every single inch of him..._

â€¦_Is there something bigger than Jupiter that is quantifiable so I can actually compare what just happened in my heart just now?_ She wonders, blankly, before blinking twice and yelping as _just what_ Zashi's doing _finally_ registers.

"Oh, oh no, it's okay!" She yelped, flailing her hands back and forth for a moment before promptly Pulling all of the cans back into the cart, the Law book flying off the shelf and almost smacking herb in the head if she hadn't managed to duck _just_ in time. "I'm so sorry, Zashi-Kun! I don't usually startle so badly, I swear!" She told him earnestly, eyes wide as she peered at him, heart fluttering as he blinked between his empty hand and the cart now full of goods.

"Oh, wow!" he said, eyes wide and glittering as he darted over, peering between her and the cart with fascination. "was that your Quirk?! That was so cool! Some sort of Telekinesis, then? You must have fantastic control, to move so many things at once! Does it affect your brain, like, do you have extra Synapses or, or, or does, like, your cerebral cortex expand or do you have excessive frontal lobe tissues?!" Inko blinked, before her shoulders abruptly relaxed as she let out a relieved sigh. Thank goodness he wasn't freaking out or something, she was worried that they'd spend the next however long babbling apologies back and forth, their anxieties feeding off one another like it had last time.

"Actually, it's more of a gravitational pull," she told the cute boy warmly, grinning at him as his face lit up. "And, while I've never had an MRI so I can't know what parts of my brain it affects, over use of it can cause blindingly intense migraines that leave me bedridden for a few days."

"That suggests that it affects your blood pressure levels, which would mean that it actually revolves around... Your heart..." he trailed off, suddenly frowning as he stared at her, worry beginning to furrow his brow, and Inko blinked as he suddenly stepped close to her and picked up her hand, cradling it gently and pressing his fingers to her wrist. "Can you use your Quirk again real quick, Inko-Chan?" He asked her; concerned by the sudden intensity in his expression, Inko did, pulling a few of the cans from the cart and sending them to the proper spots on the shelves. Inko found herself staring, wide-eyed, down at Zashi's intense, serious expression, his matcha-green eyes dark and his bright smile gone behind a tight frown on concentration.

_Oh_, she thought faintly, staring.

_Oh. _

_He's a Hero. _

_An... Actual __**Hero...**_

_Isn't he._

"...You should be careful, using your Quirk right now," he told her quietly, seriously, as he peered up at her, matcha-green eyes dark as he stared. "It directly affects your heart, from what I can guess. Whenever you use it, if makes your heart speed up rapidly, and puts strain on your circulatory system, raising your blood-pressure and stressing your organs... That can be really dangerous for your baby," he told her solemnly, serious and Inko felt her heart just _stop_.

"W-what...?" she whispered, curling her hands around her stomach instinctively, face gray as she stared at him, wide-eyed. Zashi grimaced faintly, straightening up and stepping forward to wrap a strong, steady arm around her shoulder as she swayed.

"Take a deep breath, Inko-Chan," he murmured softly, gently. "A nice, deep breath, that's it... I didn't mean to scare you," he murmured, carefully leading her towards the front of the store, where her usual stool was waiting. "From what I know of how Quirks affect biology; your own body is capable of counteracting and adapting to the way your Quirk affects you. My own, for example, makes me fire-proof to a certain extent and lets me have a larger breathing capacity. In return, however, I'm more affected by the cold and my lungs are easily incapacitated with illness, smoke, or fluid build-up." He carefully set her down on the stool, crouching down so that they could stay eye-to-eye, and offering her a sweet smile as Inko got herself back under control.

"From what I've been able to see about _your_ Quirk, Inko-Chan," he continued earnestly, "it's affected by your circulatory system, likely because it's connected directly to your ability to focus and the tension brought on the heart by that sudden focus. This means that, if you're not careful, you can knock yourself unconscious, sort of like that stupid game that was popular with kids a few years back, where they'd put pressure on their carotid artery until they got light-headed enough to pass out?" Inko nodded slowly, remembering seeing a couple of kids in her class do that, press their hands hard against their throats until their eyes rolled back and their faces turned red. They said it made them feel like they were floating and left them giggly and dizzy for a while.

"Well, when you used your Quirk right now, it made your blood pressure skyrocket, which isn't healthy for your baby, you know? And I just worry," he added, earnest and sheepish at the same time. "I know we've only really met the one time, but, well, I can already tell you're an amazing person, Inko-Chan!" He told her, beaming, and Inko felt her heart stop for a completely different reason, eyes going wide as he beamed up at her, eyes lightening back to their bright matcha-green, dimples on display. "And I have no doubt your baby will be too!"

And, suddenly, Inko was crying, eyes huge and lips trembling as tears fell heavily down her face. Distantly, she noted that Zashi was panicking, hands flailing a little as he babbled, but she didn't notice. His words were overlapping with the memory of her mother screaming at her, that last day after her pregnancy had been confirmed by the family physician.

_You're an amazing person, Inko-Chan! And I have no doubt your baby will be too!_

_You little whore! How dare you embarrass us like this?! Did you even think about what your father and I would have to go through before you spread your legs for the first person who looked your way?!_

_You're an amazing person, Inko-Chan!_

_Get out of my house! You and that, that little __**bastard**__ in your gut! Get out before I __**throw you out**__!_

_**You're an amazing person, Inko-Chan! And I have no doubt that your baby **__**will be too**__**!**_

In a sudden, swift movement, she was off the stool and tackling him to the ground, his arms flailing wide to catch them both as her arms wrapped around his neck, face tucked under his chin.

"_Thank you_," she choked out, pressing her forehead to the pounding pulse in his neck as she shut her eyes tight, breath shuddering as she wept. She felt Zashi hesitate, before his arms were wrapped securely around her shoulders, pressing her closer as he shifted so that she was settled more comfortably into his lap. Between them, her rounded stomach pressed against his own flat stomach, and her baby kicked sharply. Immediately, the breath whooshed out of both of their lungs, the two of them going still.

"Did... Did the baby just kick me?" Zashi managed to ask, breathless, and Inko laughed wetly, carefully pulling away and rubbing at her face.

"Yeah, he, uh, he really did," she giggled, breath shuddering as she gently touched her stomach. Zashi's hands fluttered about for a moment, and, on impulse, she reached out and caught them before pressing them to her belly. Immediately, the baby kicked again, almost playfully, strong enough to make Inko wince a little before she laughed, as Zashi's face _lit up_ and he beamed at her.

"That's so cool!" he gasped, eyes wide as he tentatively pressed his hands to her stomach. "The only time I've every actually gotten to feel a baby kick was when my Uncle's wife was pregnant with my little cousins, and even then I was only four when Touya was born, and I wasn't really allowed around Fuyumi or Natsuo while Rei-San was pregnant with them... Or this next little one," he added, tone shifting to something sad, and Inko shook her head, pressing his hands more firmly to her stomach in response.

"Well, you're always welcome to come see my baby, Zashi-Kun," she told him warmly. "He'll need a Hero to look up to, after all," she added, grinning impishly as Zashi flushed, matcha-green eyes tearing up even as he offered her a star-bright smile.

"Please, call me Hizashi," he urged her sheepishly. "Zashi is my Hero name, after all. Todoroki Hizashi, at your service!" Inko laughed, absently rubbing her hands over her face to get rid of the last of her tears.

"Midoriya Inko, at yours," she replied; Zashi-no, _Hizashi_, lit up in response, beaming at her, and the two of them sat there on the floor, feeling her little baby kick and grinning like idiots, for another ten minutes before they finally got to their feet.

"I was actually in the neighborhood to check in on you, to be honest, Inko-Chan," he told her as he helped her finish stocking the shelves.

"Oh?" she asked, absently tugging on one of her bangs as she glanced at him; his ears turned red as he nodded, looking away from her.

"Well, I was worried about you, for one reason," he told her honestly. "I mean, a girl my age, pregnant and in this particular area, alone at night across from a drug-lab run by a villain... You can understand, right? Why I'd be worried?" He offered softly, uncertainly, and Inko nodded.

"I get it," she told him kindly. "I'd be worried in your place, as well, if that's how I met, well, me," she told him; he nodded firmly, ears still red and only giving her a brief, embarrassed glance out of the corner of his eye before looking away again.

"Well, I may have... Um... I may have been around for a couple of days now," he told her, that red flush spreading. "And I, um, _may have_ been, y'know... Observing you? And the people around you? For a few days?" He squeaked, voice cracking as he ducked his head. Inko blinked at him, slowly setting a can down. "Just to make sure you were safe, I swear!" he added earnestly, turning to peer at her, embarrassed and sincere enough to make Inko's heart skip a beat. "And, well, after seeing how safe you were, and how nice everyone was, and how you take care of people here... I finally got up the courage to come and talk to you again out of costume! And, well, Inko-Chan, I was wondering..." Inko turned to face him fully, eyes wide as, flushing, he turned to face her, rubbing a hand through his curly, red hair sheepishly as he smile at her.

"Do you wanna go on a date with me, sometime?" He asked her hopefully; Inko's breath caught in her throat, a bright blush covering her face even as her hands snapped up instinctively to cover it. Squeaking out an affirmative, nodding her head rapidly at the same time, Inko hid her giddy smile in her palms as Hizashi let out a delighted whoop, his voice cracking as he did, ending with the two of them giggling.

They set a time for Friday at a theatre closest to the Shadow Zone, one that was actually pretty close to Nocturnas Agency so that, if he got suddenly called in, he wouldn't have to go far. After that, Mimi had appeared from her office, and Hizashi, after spending several minutes just gushing about the older woman's Quirk and agreeing with Inko about how beautiful the Arachnitaur was, finally had to take his leave. As soon as he was out the door, the thoroughly flattered and charmed Mimi gave Inko a thumbs up and a wide grin.

"Keep him, sweetheart," she ordered the teen. "I'll help you wrap him up in webbing and stick him to your side if I need to, but _keep him_!"

"I'll do my best" Inko agreed, giggling as she was lifted up onto the Arachnitaur's back so that they could go out for lunch.

Fate had a funny way of interfering when one least expects it, however. What else could explain away what was happening now, on the night before their agreed on Date, when Inko, as Feather Touch, came upon a scene that held an unconscious Infra-Red and a bruised and bloody-faces Zashi facing off against three Mutant Quirk thugs in an alley, trying to defend his Temporary Mentor.

And, as those matcha-green eyes caught sight of her as Feather Touch dropped a brick onto the skull of one of the thugs, Inko could have wept at the narrow-eyed suspicion he held for her. As she continued to use her Quirk against the Thugs, and Zashi leapt in with his too-bright flames, Inko prayed that things would work out.

And, as she left the final thug unconscious on the ground, she hesitated only a moment, sharing a long, tense look with the baby Hero, before turning around and fleeing the scene faster than every before, heart pounding and head aching.

The newspaper the next day had a brief mention of their meeting, and Inko couldn't bring herself to actually read it, heart in her throat as the time ticked away, drawing closer and closer to the time of their Date. And to what she truly, truly believed could be the last time she saw Hizashi as anything but the Hero who would hunt her down.

Hands trembling as they curled around her belly, Inko stepped off the train and looked up, meeting matcha-green eyes across the station...

And couldn't bring herself to regret any of it.

If this was how Feather Touch ended, at the hands of this bright, brilliant boy with his bright eyes and brilliant smiles and star-like flames... Than that was how it ended, and there was nothing she could do about it. So, yes, she didn't regret it.

She just hoped he would understand, when he figured it out, because, compared to the rest of her life, with it's uncertainties and swift changes, there was no doubt in her mind that he would.

So, lifting her head, holding that bright, intelligent gaze, Inko took a deep shuddering breath, and walked towards him.

**A/N:** OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH~

WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEEEEEEEEN?!

WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEN?!

Read more to find out! 8D

Really quick, though: Midoriya's and their love of Analysis!

In this AU, Inko is highly intelligent in that she latches onto practical things that affect her and memorizes and analyzes them. Things like pregnancy books, infancy books, and Life Hacks for Single/Teenage Parents. She doesn't care about things like math or certain sciences or history because how does that currently affect her? She keeps those grades up, of course, because they affect her and her babies future, but she doesn't really care. She's all about the Practical. Oh, I'm pregnant? Memorizes all the baby books. Oh, I'm a Vigilante? Memorizes all the Law books. Things like that.

Hizashi is all about Quirk Biology and Biology in general. He is fascinated with the way Quirks affect their holders, not necessarily the Quirks themselves. Oh, you have a night-vision Quirk? How does that affect your actual eyeballs and the parts of the brain dealing in sight?! Things like that. Biology and Quirk-Biology are the things he obsesses over hardcore.

Izuku was obsessed with Quirks (and Heroes) themselves. He wanted to know the hows, whats, where, whens, and whys of a Quirk. Strengths, weaknesses, abilities, possible uses, things like that. This is a boy who would have looked at Shinso AKA Gucci Eyebags as a kid and squealed about the sheer level of PROSPECT such a Quirk would have in the Hero Field. This is a boy who knew every weakness of Kacchan's Quirk and could have literally RUINED HIS CHANCES of becoming a Hero if he was any more vicious or cruel. This was a boy who figured out how to use his brand new Quirk pretty much immediately, figured out how to focus it down after it injured him, and then figured out how to do it even better. Izuku is all about Quirks, and not really about the people behind them... (Unless its someone he cares about, then you know he's gonna give you all the Quirk Workout Routines to get your Quirk to the best it can be) ((I'm looking at you, Gucci Eyebags))


	5. Chapter Four: From the Other Side

**A/N:** Hey look! A Hizashi POV chapter!

8D

**Greener Grass**

**Chapter Four**

_From the Other Side_

Todoroki Hizashi was in love. There was no other word for it. He'd fallen in love with a girl-who definitely had a past-at first sight-well, actually at first punch, which, by the way, _ow-_like he was the lead character in some weird romance manga. And she was so out of his league it was laughable. If she'd had an even _slightly_ cruel personality it would have been _dangerous_ but... But he hadn't gone in _completely_ blind, he liked to believe.

It all started on the roof of a building in the middle of the night, across from a drug lab...

Which _totally_ sounded like the summary of one of those edgy romance manga's, _fuck his life_.

But, anyways, he'd finally caught up to Knight Owl there on the roof, struggling to catch his breath (curse his weak lungs! Curse them!), only when he'd looked up, he'd seen a _vision_. A green-haired, green-eyed, sweet-faced _vision_, and his freshly caught breath had left him in a stunned _whoosh_ that only needed his flames to be _any more obvious __**fuck his life**_. Fortunately, the Vision had apparently been in shock, no doubt from his fearsome Mentor's sudden appearance (Hizashi could count on _all four limbs_ the number of times Knight Owl had scared the _crap_ outta him and _still need more digits_). _Un_fortunately, her first reaction to his attempt to calm her down was to throw one _hell_ of a right hook and break his nose.

And then he was in love.

And that love only grew brighter and stronger and deeper as they sat on that roof and talked. As she told him he _would be_ a Hero. That she sincerely _believed in him_ and _encouraged him_ and...! Hizashi was fifteen (almost sixteen!) and in love so deep there was no coming back from it. And, frankly, he wasn't sure he _wanted_ to come back from it.

"Focus, Zashi," Knight Owl had growled, more than once, the rest of that night, as Hizashi had been left floating on rainbow-colored clouds with gusty, sweet sighs and big, soft doe-eyes.

"The hell happened to the kitten?" Infra-red had asked when they returned; Knight Owl grumbled, rubbing a hand over his face as he moved towards the coffee machine.

"He met a girl."

"Oooooooh!" The Night Vision Hero coed, her bright red visor lighting up with glee. "A _girrrrrrl_, huh?" Hizashi could only offer a goofy, doe-eyed grin.

"She broke my nose," Hizashi could only sigh dreamily even as the other Heroes and Sidekicks laughed at him. He didn't care, though, they were always laughing at him for one reason or another.

(Usually about his costume. Actually, _mostly_ about his costume.)

That night, when he retired to his room, he dreamed of green eyes and tousled green hair and bright, fierce expressions, like she had fire in her soul just like he did. And, when he woke up, he knew he had to check on her, because, as embarrassed as he was to admit it, he'd only figured out that Inko-Chan was pregnant when he was leaving, too distracted by her eyes and smile and words and heart to even realize that there was something... Not _wrong_ with her, babies were never _wrong_, but _different_.

And, in that area, at that time of night? A pregnant teenager alone and so close to a known drug-lab? The increase of Villains and Vigilantes and crime? He was worried, for her and her baby, and his thoughts tended to spiral down into intense fretting at the best of times if he didn't get to "mother" the object of his worry (Also, screw you Touya, he was _not_ a mother hen! ...Only he totally was, but like hell would he let his _eleven-year-old_ cousin mock him!). So, during the day, in his "off" hours, he kinda, sorta, maybe, just a _little bit..._

Stalked her.

For four days.

..._Yeaaaaaaaah..._

But, it was for a good reason! And it proved to himself that Inko-Chan was _well worth_ every sort of regard. Seeing her every day, even at a distance, surrounded by what the rest of the world saw as the dregs of society, radiating kindness and acceptances and open-minded _care..._ Seeing her treat everyone around her like they were _more than _worthy of acknowledgement, so different from the people he was raised amongst. The Todoroki family had always had... Very _traditional_ views on Quirks and people in general. His Uncle was especially strict on his views of how certain Quirks should be... _Handled_. And here, seeing these people smiling and laughing and treating this girl he knew he loved so well, and being treated well by her, and so _easily..._

Inko-Chan was the opposite of everything his parents and family would have approved of, and, Hizashi could admit that that very fact was a major factor in him finally gaining the courage to ask the girl out. Of course, he was side-tracked rather quickly by her Quirk, then his worry, then her little breakdown-which was most likely propagated by her hormones, which in absolutely _no way_ gave her emotions or thoughts or feelings any less validation! In fact, Hizashi honestly believed that it gave them _more_ validation, because the hormones didn't _change_ her feelings, after all, they just tended to make her _express them_. There was a saying that he wasn't sure actually _fit_ the situation, but was the closest he could think of:

_Drunken Words are Sober Thoughts_.

Anyways, once he'd managed to get the both of them back on track (the baby was distracting, _all babies_ were distracting, but added to the fact that _Inko-Chan let him touch her baby-bump..._! Well, it took a while for his brain to restart.), he'd finally, _finally_ managed to ask her on a date and, well, she'd not _only_ said yes, but her _reaction_ gave him plenty of hope that he wasn't the only one helplessly infatuated (in _love_).

And Hizashi, he was _walking on air_, counting the hours until their date. The other Heroes and Sidekicks teased him relentlessly, but not even the snide, back-handed comments from his Uncle during the short family get-together on Wednesday could lower his mood! Nothing could!

...Until the night before the Date. When his worldview shifted for the second time. When an alley, an unconscious mentor, a trio of Villains, and a single moment with a girl on a rooftop turned his heart over in his chest.

_(Again)_

He'd done his research on the criminal elements of the locally known "Shadow Zone". He knew that Feather Touch was the most liked Vigilante. He knew that Feather Touch was never a close-range fighter. He knew that the Vigilante travelled the roofs. He knew that he preferred to knock his enemies unconscious, avoid getting involved with police or Heroes, and would flee as soon as the deed was done.

And he knew that Feather Touch and Inko-Chan were one and the same.

Because, Hizashi had watched Inko-Chan for several days. He'd gotten a chance to examine her Quirk up close. He knew how she moved. He knew she preferred the rooftops when she wasn't with Mimi-San. He knew that her Quirk worked on small objects best. He knew she would rather kill or die than endanger her baby. And he knew that she never did anything without having a truly heartfelt reason for it.

Standing in the train station, waiting for her, Hizashi examined what he knew, examined his own feelings, and examined his options. And, meeting her eyes, seeing the resignation in her smile, the forced straightening of shoulders, the gentle cradling of her stomach as she moved towards him, Hizashi let out a slow, shaky breath, and chose the only option that was acceptable.

Walking through the crowd, Hizashi met her halfway, wrapped his arms around her, and pulled her into a steady, firm embrace, tucking her face once more into his neck, and bowing his head so that his forehead pressed against her shoulder. He held her close, and felt more than heard the catch in her breath. Expression serious, voice quiet, he spoke.

"It's going to be okay," he told her calmly, simply. "I'm here for you."

_"Both_ of you."

**A/N:** I'm not crying _you're crying_


	6. Chapter Five: Communication is Key

**A/N:** HAVE MORE CUTE!

(Throws Hizashi at you)

**Greener Grass**

**Chapter Five**

_Communication is Key_

The movie they picked was an older one, a story about a pair of Assassins from different Guilds who unknowingly married their arch-rival, and their eventual exposure to one another as said Rivals when their Guilds join up to kill them for attracting too much Hero Attention and being flight risks. It was a good movie, but it had come out four or five years ago, so they were some of the only ones in the dark theatre. They picked seats right up front, so the speakers covered their voices as they leaned their heads against one another.

"My parents kicked me out when we found out I was pregnant, you know," Inko murmured as they watched the opening scenes. "And the boy I'd slept with didn't even remember my _name_, or, at least, acted like he didn't, and that was _before_ I found out about the baby. I was homeless for months, the entirety of my first trimester, and I... Well, I needed to eat and I needed to stay in school, and I needed for _no one to know_ about the homelessness. So I... I started stealing, just small things, loose change or wallets from people I knew were well-off." She didn't look at him, resolutely keeping her eyes on the screen as the unrealistically-beautiful main characters met in their civilian personas for the first time.

"My Quirk was weaker, back then," she murmured. "I could lift a wallet or two, and I could only Pull things towards me, never Push them. And people are so, so _careless_ with things I was _desperate_ for. Like soap, and clean water, and warm blankets, and it just, it was so _frustrating_ and, to make it worse? _No one noticed_, not for a long time... No one questioned me about anything," she murmured. "Not about my parents, or who I was staying with or _why_. I told my teachers about being kicked out, lied and said I was staying with a family friend, and none of them double-checked. After all, I was pregnant and keeping my grades up, no need to push me to _more _reckless behavior, I guess," she huffed, bitter and hurt and Hizashi's arm was around her shoulder, pulling her close. Inko leaned against him silently for a few minutes, closing her eyes and tucking her face into his neck, letting his cheek block out the light of the film.

"...I moved to the Shadow Zone as soon as school let out for the summer. And, suddenly, life was looking up, you know? I got a job, I got an apartment, no one looked twice at me after a few days." She sighed softly, slumping her weight fully into his side. "I didn't have to steal nearly as much, and it was just... _Safer_, in a way. Sure, there were more criminals and some Villains, but the police and Heroes didn't patrol there so often, so us Shadows had our own rules..." She fell silent again, turning her head to watch the movie for a few minutes.

"...The first time I did something that counted as Vigilantism was an accident," she whispered softly. "I was travelling the Roof Road, and there was a fight in an alley. One of the other Shadows was being attacked by some goon that was _obviously_ not from around the area. The Goon was trying to inject him with something, which I later found out was a dose of Docile." Hizashi made a sound, for the first time. A tight hiss, almost a muttered curse, and Inko grimaced in agreement. Docile was a drug that was similar to hypnotism, or a compulsion. It made its users _immensely_ open to suggestion, and was often used as either a Date-Rape Drug or a Trafficking Drug. If your victims were too blank and distant to struggle, after all, you didn't have to work as hard, after all. Hence the name, 'Docile'.

"I knocked the goon out and saved the Shadow," she murmured, "and, after that, it seemed like, like around every corner someone needed help, help I could give, you know? A mugging stopped here, a rape there, a rescue that way, and, suddenly, the media was making noise. And then, police and Heroes were actually _paying attention_. They hadn't cared as much before, when it was just drug addicts and dregs stumbling about and only bothering one another, but, with the attention on Feather Touch? The sudden attention on someone who was doing their job and being praised for it, while they were being assessed and found wanting?" Inko snorted quietly, tiredly, absently accepting the offered popcorn the Hizashi was holding. It had gone untouched so far, and she needed something to distract herself from the bitterness souring in her throat.

"It used to take almost twenty minutes for police to respond to the Shadow Zone, you know," she informed him quietly, chest aching and blinking away tears as she watched the two Assassins struggle with not letting the other know, or their ridiculously bland neighbors. "Now, it takes maybe ten, and Heroes pop out even faster than that, sometimes. _Villains_ are enforcing the Shadow Rules, making sure that their minions stay in line and not draw attention. All because I stumbled on an attempted kidnapping on accident." She snorted in amusement, blinking away her tears as she did so and stuffing a palmful of over-cooked, over-salted popcorn into her mouth.

"Not much of an Origin Story," she muttered; Hizashi hummed quietly, squeezing her close gently, arm a heavy, comforting weight across her shoulders. They watched the movie in silence for a few minutes, eating their popcorn and drinking their sodas.

"...Before my Quirk came in, my Uncle used to tell my parents that they should drop me off at an orphanage," Hizashi spoke suddenly, voice quiet and calm; Inko stilled, her eyes going wide. "He told them that a Quirkless son would be an embarrassment to the family name, that they should distance themselves from me as quickly as possible. And, before it came in, my parents were actually _considering it_. I could tell, even back then," he murmured, voice choked and aching, and Inko lifted her hand to her mouth, eyes huge and tears slipping down her cheek in horror and sympathy for the Trainee Hero.

She tasted salt, either from her tears or from her hand, she didn't know, but the sharp tang of it made her throat close up and made her breathing difficult.

"Then, my Uncle tried to throw away my Hero merch," he told her, his voice shifting to something wryly amused, reluctantly pleased. "I remember my chest burning, a spreading ache as I _screamed_ at him, and I gout of flames as long as a couch and hot enough to turn my door to charcoal shot out, just _barely_ missing him. It was so sudden and so strong that I put myself in a minor coma from Quirk exhaustion. Gave myself a fever so high I nearly cooked my brain," he murmured. And Inko could picture it, a tiny, adorable Hizashi red-faced and tear and screaming like upset children did, only a stream of fire shooting, star-bright, from his mouth, like an elemental expression of his distress...

It would be cute if the situation that caused it didn't leave her torn between aggressively cuddling the sweet baby Hero or hunting down his douchebag of an Uncle and _destroy him..._

"...My parents did a one-eighty," he murmured. "Suddenly, I was all they could talk about. A _late-bloomer_, with a Quirk so strong and bright and something that could make the Todoroki name proud. It was all I could do to get any _breathing space_ after that. Remedial lessons here, training there, just push, push, _pushing_ until I wanted to _scream_," he whispered, voice choked and aching and fierce. "It got to the point where throwing myself into self-training, into study and science and biology was the only way to get them to _back off_. They thought I wanted to be a doctor, to become kinda surgeon and bring prestige back with me, so they encouraged my study of Quirk Biology. I, ah," Inko blinked, a small smile curling her lips as she _felt_ the bright red blush that started heating his ears and neck. "I lied about what school exam I was going to, when I went to U.A... I had them drop me off almost three hours early, walked through a strange school and slipped out the back and just _booked it_. Three train rides and a sprint later, and I _barely_ made it to U.A. in time to take the exam. And, and I _passed_." He whispered it with a sort of awed glee, a proud joy that had Inko shifting her body and reaching over to curl her fingers into his free hand holding the popcorn.

"You're going to be an _amazing_ Hero, Hizashi-Kun," she murmured to him quietly, earnestly; Hizashi turned his head and pressed his mouth to her forehead.

"And you're going to be an _amazing_ mother, Inko-Chan," he whispered against her skin, and Inko flushed, ducking her head and hiding her face in his neck.

The rest of the movie was spent curled against one another, slowly eating popcorn and holding hands. It was... Frankly the first actual date Inko had ever been on, but it was so _comfortable_. The conversations they'd had, the secrets shared, feelings usually locked up so simply expressed... It left the air strangely free, took a weight off her chest and shoulders that she hadn't felt clearly before, and made what they were experiencing together feel so _real..._

"Hey, Hizashi-Kun?" She murmured as the end of the movie approached; he hummed quietly.

"Yes, Inko-Chan?" She sighed softly, happily into his neck as he squeezed her gently to him.

"I think Hellcat would be a good Hero name for you," she murmured to him softly. "It's playful and strong and will make others underestimate you... And you make a cute neko," she teased softly, leaning up and pressing a kiss to his cheek, grinning brightly as he immediately blushed, just in time for the theatre lights to come back on exposing his bright red face to her giggling amusement.

"Inko-_Chaaaaan_," he whined, free hand lifting to try and cover his face, but Inko, still laughing, used her own free hand to try and stop him, making the boy squawk indignantly as they wrestled gently back and forth, laughter rising as Inko ended up sprawled over him, his legs automatically cradling her to keep her stomach from bumping into anything as she boldly pressed butterfly kisses to his bright red cheeks, making him squeak and laugh, trying to push her away (for a certain view of 'trying'. Really, he was just flailing dramatically as he grinned brightly at her).

All in all, when they were finally hustled out under the tired-but-amused eyes of the theatre employees, the two of them were pink-cheeks and grinning like idiots, cuddled against one another as they left.

It was, as first dates go, a rousing success, and they were already planning for more.

**A/N:** Here you go, some cuteness and some minor angst and a reminder that adorable boys exist and need to be cherished, and that, as the title states, _communication is key_ to a healthy relationship.

Please review!


	7. Chapter Six: Confrontation

**A/N:** Here's the next chapter guys! Thanks so much for all the feedback!

**Greener Grass**

**Chapter Six**

_Confrontation_

They manage another two dates before deciding that, yes, they were _together_-together. And with that came a certain level of trust. Inko, for example, invited him into her apartment, showed him the early ultra-sound pictures, and asked for his opinion on baby names (she was torn between Izuku and Hiroshi for a boy, which is what she had a feeling her baby was, but she also had the names Hinako and Ruri for a girl just in case). And Hizashi formally introduced her to the Heroes he worked with, earning yet another heavy sigh from Knight Owl as Infra-Red, Moonlight, and Star Chaser (all three of them female Heroes) cooed and teased them. She now had a (completely ironic) open invitation to visit the Heroes whenever the mood struck, any time between open hours (six PM to six AM seven days a week).

(Knight Owl had very grumpily cut in and expressed that she wasn't allowed to visit when Hizashi was working because she would distract him more than usual. The two teenagers had flushed and giggled but agreed, Hizashi sheepishly admitting that she was distracting enough when he didn't see her and earning several 'Aw's from the female Heroes even as Inko's heart _threw itself off a cliff, this boy, god_)

With the welcoming into personal space, however, came the complications of personal things. Things like an eleven-year-old with spiky red hair and pale turquoise eyes hunting her down in the middle of her shift to give her the stink eye and waft faint wisps of smoke from his pores. He would, no doubt, grow into _quite_ the handsome man one day, but, for now? Mimi had already had to retreat to the office when her loud cooing had made the boy puff up angrily, his sulky expression going pouty as he tried to be intimidating and only managed to look like an endearingly angry puppy.

"Let me guess," Inko mused, eying the boy with fondness already. "Touya?" The boy glared at her fiercely, crossing his arms over his chest with a huff. He was wearing a black and gray hoody, although, the more she looked, the more she realized that the gray was actually ashes and soot, and that the hoody had several pockmarks of small burns, right where the boy nervously fidgeted or tapped his fingertips.

"If you know what's good for you, you'll stop messin' around with Hizashi-Niichan," he told her stiffly, tightly, glaring at her as Inko arched a brow, absently using Pull and to bring the nearby stepstool closer so she could reach a top shelf. She'd taking Hizashi's advice about limiting her Quirk usage and had already noticed a drastic reduction in the swelling of her ankles and in the aching muscles of her back. He really _was_ her Hero, all things considered...

"If I knew what was good for me, I would have started dating Hizashi sooner, I think you mean," she informed him easily. "After all, he's already saved both me _and_ my baby." She patted her rounded belly, the beginning of her third and final trimester rapidly approaching (along with the end of summer). As soon as those turquoise eyes (and really, such a pretty color, did all of Hizashi's family have jewel-bright eyes like that?) landed on her round belly, they went wide and surprised, mouth opening a bit and arms uncrossing.

"You... You're...?" He gestured awkwardly toward her stomach, expression tilting into uncertain; Inko smiled softly at the younger boy.

"Yep," she said, smiling as she carefully rearranged a few packages of ramen before stepping down. "Almost seven months, now!"

"Seven... Months..." he muttered, and Inko caught the flash of hurt and betrayal that glinted across his face, a flash like black ice on the road, there and gone before you knew it, until it made your world spin out of control.

"It's not Hizashi's," she told him firmly, calmly, cutting off whatever thoughts he was no doubt getting about his 'Niichan' holding back information. "This baby was made in a one-night stand of a mistake with a boy who was only interested in getting me into bed, no matter _what_ he said or I believed at the time," she told him calmly. "And in the last two weeks that I've known Hizashi, he has treated both me and this baby better than my own family ever did..." She glanced down at her stomach, lovingly caressing it and smiling helplessly as her baby (Izuku was such a good name...). "I guess, in that way, it _is_ his. In all the ways that really matter, in the end," she murmured lovingly, striking her belly softly. Touya stared, wide-eyed, face soft and round with uncertainty and relief, and Inko was struck by just how _young_ he was, how _tired_ and _lonely_ he seemed.

And, in that moment, that flash of insight for this boy who so obviously cared for her Zashi and who was so willing to go and shovel-talk this strange girl he'd never even met before, Inko decided. Just as she had with Bo, with everything she did as Feather Touch, she trusted her instincts.

So, Inko offered him a bright smile, and invited him back to her apartment for tea.

And if Hizashi's dumbfounded look when he visited her after Patrol, to find his young cousin curled up under a throw blanket on her couch surrounded by snack wrappers, with an old movie playing quietly in the background while Inko munched on a bowl of strawberries sleepily on the floor in front of him, was anything to go by, Inko would _definitely_ be inviting the boy over again.

(She didn't actually have to, it turned out. Much like a cat, Touya went where he pleased _in spite_ of those around him. The number of times Inko comes home to find him raiding her fridge or passed out on her couch quickly becomes something of a fifty-fifty chance as days pass).

The next person she gets to meet isn't his mother or father, which is both unfortunate and a blessing. No, instead, she has the _dubious_ pleasure of _finally_ meeting the dreaded Uncle Enji. The currently Number Seven Hero, Endeavor. And she gets to meet him when he barges into the Nocturnas Agency, in all his flaming glory, to demand to speak to his nephew.

"He's on Patrol right now, Endeavor-San," Moonlight informs the Hero mildly, her pearl-colored eyes cool and stoic, inhumanly-black skin making them gleam eerily beneath her silver colored hair and painted lips. Moonlight's Quirk, Moon Beam, let her shoot pale beams of silvery light out of her eyes that would temporarily blind those she hit. Unfortunately, they only worked in unbroken streams and in darkness, but even the tiniest streak brushing you would blind you for five full minutes. As a result, the exotically beautiful Hero could only see in UV shades of gray, silver, white, and pale purples and blues, and had heavy-duty prescription sunglasses for the daytime. Unnatural lighting wasn't as bad, but her navy-blue and silver costume still came with a pale blue visor for when she was in brightly lit areas.

"I will wait," the Number Seven Hero grunted, flaming face set in harsh lines as he stalked over to a nearby chair and sat pointedly, crossing his arms over his chest as Inko eyed him narrowly.

_So, this is the asshole who treated Hizashi like crap as a child,_ she thought, staring at him without blinking, face set in a tight, unhappy expression. Moonlight, seeing it, sighed softly and murmured something about getting her some juice from the vending machine, before pushing back from her chair and exiting, leaving them to what she mutteringly referred to as 'family drama'.

"What is it, girl?" Endeavor finally snapped, frowning heavily at her; Inko didn't twitch.

"So, _you_ are the infamous _Uncle Enji_," she drawled coldly; Endeavor stiffened, dark eyes flashing, like black pools, and Inko curled her lips in a facsimile of a smile. "I do believe I have some _words_ for you, _Uncle_," she hissed, standing carefully from her chair, a hand dropping immediately and obviously to her rounded stomach as she turned fully to face him. Those coal-dark eyes flickered down to her belly briefly before a sneer of disdain curled his lips.

"I see my nephew is still shaming the family despite his change of fortune," he scoffed; Inko's 'smile' sharpened, teeth bared and green eyes dark and sharp as blades of jade.

"Oh, the baby's not his, though he's already a better father than the piece of shit who put it in me," she told him mildly. "And, considering he's saved both our lives multiple times already, even when I didn't realize we were in danger to begin with, I'd say he's doing plenty of 'honoring', even I don't personally feel like your family deserves it, if just a _fraction_ of the stories he's told me are true. See, the thing about 'Abuse', _Uncle Enji_," she hissed, stepping up to him, his large form dwarfing her own even as he remained sitting, "is that when people here it, they think bruises and broken bones and screaming fights. But, see, that's only _one type_ of abuse. Another form people think of is sexual. The last ones people ever think of, however, are _verbal, psychological, and emotional_." The fire on Endeavor's face flared, teeth grinding obviously, eyes flashing with hellfire and wrath as he straightened, glaring down at Inko.

"Are you accusing me of something, _child_?" He growled, a low rumble, a volcano about to erupt. Inko let her smile thin and widen, Cheshire and vicious and coldcoldcold.

"I don't know, _Uncle Enji_," she cooed mockingly. "What would you call it when someone's own Uncle tells his parents to get rid of him because his Quirk might not come in? Or when they call him a 'Worthless Quirkless'? Or when they try to destroy a child's dreams just because they don't agree with them, when he's not even _their fucking child_?" She leaned in close, ignoring the biting heat of his flames to drop her smile, eyes cold.

"Make's a girl wonder what he does to his _own_ family, his _own children_, if he's so willing to abuse a child who doesn't even live under his own roof," she murmured to him, coldcoldcold to combat the heat of his fury and outrage. "Make's a girl wonder what would happen to his PR if word got out. After all, you may be able to silence me or the press, _after the fact_," she bit out, jabbing at his chest without touching the fire that crackled angrily there, "but you'll never be able to erase the _doubts_. And, the Quirkless community? They have loved ones and supporters in one another and others, and if _they_ found out? That's _twenty percent_ of the population right there who would not _hesitate_ to vote _no confidence_ for you." She leaned back, glaring frigidly even as she returned her hands to stroking and cradling her belly gently.

"Of course," she continued, voice mild and distantly polite as the sound of the front door of the Agency opening sounded, "this is all supposition based around the idea that you're not here to shame or hurt Hizashi-Kun, of course." And then, she smiled, sweet and saccharine and poisonous as Knight Owl turned the corner into the main offices, Hizashi at his heels.

"Uncle Enji?!" He yelped, eyes wide as he stumbled, matcha-green eyes darting between Inko's tiny form and his Uncle's crackling, anger-hot form. Inko continued to smile as Endeavor for a cold, long second, before turning and padding towards her boyfriend, leaning up and pressing a sweet kiss to his cheek as he curled an arm instinctively, protectively around her waist, shifting his body to be between her and his Uncle as the Flaming Hero rose stiffly to his feet.

(Knight Owl noticed, of course he did. Those avian eyes were for more than hunting Villains, after all. And, if he happened to shift into the prime position to defend his pupil and his girlfriend as he nodded a greeting to the Number Seven Hero, that was his prerogative. And, hidden out of direct line of sight, if Moonlights pearl-colored eyes were gleaming with power, ready to fire at any moment, fingers clenched tightly around a pair of peach-juice drinks, well, that was _her_ prerogative. As it was her prerogative to inform her fellow Agency members about the entire conversation she _just happens_ to be close enough to overhear. Just like it was _their_ prerogative, to bring up bits and pieces and mumbles at every meet up they had with Heroes from other Agencies, or to complain about it to their loved ones or friends, especially the ones they knew who were friends or relatives with Quirkless people. But that would happen later.)

"How, uh, how can I help you, Uncle Enji?" Hizashi asked him cautiously; Endeavor glared darkly at the two of them, and Inko met his eyes head-on without flinching. After a second, he grunted.

"There is a family gathering this weekend," he grunted stiffly. "Your youngest cousin, Todoroki Shouto, was born yesterday. Your presence is mandatory." With that and a stiff, barely-there nod to Knight Owl, Endeavor stalked away. Hizashi tugged Inko closer as he passed, turning her so that he was always between the two, until the Agency doors snapped shut behind him with just _barely_ enough force to _not_ be considered a childish slam. Immediately, Hizashi let out a shaky breath and turned, wrapping Inko in his arms unhappily as he hugged her close, baby bump pressed to his own stomach as he did.

"You okay?" He asked her softly, concerned, as Moonlight finally emerged from the hall, sharing a brief, pointed look with Night Owl as she set the two cans of peach-juice down. Inko took a deep breath, breathing in Hizashi's smell, like cinnamon and ash and blown-out candles. And this time, when she smiled, it was soft and warm and bright, as she peered up at her boyfriend.

"Never better, Hizashi-Kun," she told him softly, warmly, honestly. "Never better."

**A/N:** And there we go! Endeavor popped up! For those curious, All Might is still running around America at this point in time, chasing rumors and suspected sightings of All For One, and spreading his smile and strength around. He hasn't made his Japanese Debut yet!

**The Late-Night Headcanon Corner**

_(AKA the I-woke-up-at-3-AM-with-this-sudden-and-mildly-horrifying-BNHA-thought-and-will-now-share-it-with-you corner)_

Dark Shadow could totally be Tokoyami's twin who was re-absorbed in the womb. They're two separate entities, and DS is underdeveloped compared to Bird Boy. Tokoyami may in fact have another Quirk, if this is true, unless utilizing his twin's spirit as a weapon is His Quirk, and the form and Shadow Manipulation was his twins Quirk…

Thoughts?


End file.
